Hair clipper cleaning and sterilizing device



April 16, 1957 E. J. LOEFFLER HAIR CLIPPER CLEANING AND STERI LIZI ENG DEVICE Filed June 1, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR: E. J. LOEFFLER,

ATTORNE Y.

April 16, 1957 v E. J. LOEFFLER 2,788,536

HAIR CLIPPER CLEANING AND STERILIZING DEVICE Filed June 1, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ill I 3 INVENTOR.

E. J. LOEFFLEK BY W ATTORNEY.

April 16, 1957 E. .1. LOEFFLER HAIR CLIPPER CLEANING AND STERILIZING DEVICE Filed June 1, 1954 5 Sheets$heet 3 IN V EN TOR. E. .J, LOEFF A'TTORNE Y.

United States Patent HAIR CLIPPER CLEANING AND STERILIZING DEVICE sterilizing the type of electriclhainclipper inithe average barbershop.

A barber shop requirement in most localities is to clean and sterilize the electriclhair clipper each-time it has been used. But partly because the barberoften cannotfind time to do-this work thoroughly by hand,

' and alsodue tov carelessness or forgetfulness on the part of some barber,.the clipper is often laid aside uncleaned.

It is, in. view .of the foregoing, the object of the pres- .ent invention to provide a simple and convenient power driven "device which will completely cleanse and, sterilize an electric hair clipper. t.,is a'further object to provide ,a device so constructedthat it is merely required to place .the clipper therein and to press a button to start 'thecleaning operationh (Another object is to pro- Qvide a mechanism,which will automatically come to a stop at thetend of the cleaning operation. A still'f urther object, is to provide a device within whichthe 'cleansed clipper niayjemain enclosed to stay clean and sterilized until again needed.

These and other objects of the invention, as well as the many advantageous featnres'thereof, will appear from the following detailed description and by referring to the appended drawings in which a preferred formof the inven tion is" illustrated.

Qln the. drawings: "Fig. 1, is a side elevational view ofv a device embodying the invention with the. side wall of the casing'thereof 1 broken away;

"Fig. 2 isav substantially correspondin cross sectional end view ofthe. device taken on line 2-'-2 of'Fig. 1; and Figs. 3-6 are fragmentary views of various portions "bfthe mechanisms within the casing of the device.

"The device of the invention ,is in' the drawings shown enclosed within a casing Lonthe floor 2 of which are mounted posts 3,4 and a bar or rail 5 rises from the jflfloor to supportna platform" 7 for horizontal sliding 'movernentthereon. The platform is fitted with lugs 8,

9 and these lugs are perforated slidably to seat 'on a jgui'de rod'lllof the posts 3,4. "A rectangular-frame rises .from'the platform rotatably to; support horizontally idirected shafts 16,17 inparallel relation to the guide :rodltLand to each other. Brushes p18,, 19 are rigidly Secured to the ends of these shafts. A bracket Zll'ex- :tends horizontally fromthe end wall 21 of the casing .,'in parallel relation to the two shafts on an axis through the center of the space betweentheshafts. From ,this bracket rise rods 22,f23 to form a cradle into which the clipper A is lowered for cleaning and sterilizing purposes, as will now,,be described. A soft pad 24 may .be placed in this cradlefor the protection of the cutting edge .ofthe clipper.

An electric motor"30 is shown mounted on the frame 15 and a gear pinion 31 is secured to the motorshaft and acts thropgh speed reducing gears 32, 33.to rotate .gears, 34, 350i the brush'shafts 16, 17. "This entire brush assembly is advanced to move the brushes across the cradled lower end, of'the clipper ,in the following manner. 'A. stubf shaft 36.is vertically seated for rota l tion in brackets 37, 38 extending from the frame 15 and a worm gear 39 of this shaft is in mesh with a worm '40 of theshaft '16. "A bar'45 is at 46 shown pivotally the; c i p r e d.zt or ush y t d shed matter adhering thereto. :xI-he, bar 45 1s n-ring t a it. m v men t t e s lle :Q t ,;t 9 1:1. p o i p ce: or h tutninamavemsnt 9 eseswitch.

2,788,536 Patenteip 6, 7 195.17

secu i tpesitiont on th nr -t hand a s r .97 of the stub shaft 36 is pivotally connected to the end of this bar.

mov me t cause ;z sew ptev r 1 ut ina.su ae .e

-Meanemustb :Prov de ,t td semttin of the ,br a semb y area t n1-t Q This-mayb da i th t l nsstnanns evemem amt-abra ;-.w ven cro sw s j- 50 is; su ta imeunt t -th st p o h a n --Th w c is by n u t 5 45 5 I manner common .in suchaniotqswitehes, moved downclosed: A fiatf spring 56 is fastened to theabottom of r by rt depressed b teni t smaint t ..-eirea the switch and it,extends past the lower end of the plunger; 55. A pawl; 57 is 1at,58 shown hung to; swing on-a bracket 59 of the frame 15-;in close;proximity t0 therear endof the spring 56. .when the push, button 53 is depressed to; close the eircnit to, advance .the brush assembly' and with it the pawl .57, it .isvfound that the end 9f the spring will; cause the pawl to swing on its pivot to, enable the :pawl to, freely pass underthe.;spring, again to return-to tits upright position. duringthe continued. forward brpsh assembly movement. But "because .the pawlnby a projection fi tl of the,bracket.59;is. held againstpscillating movement in the: opposite direction, it i is found that the upperypnd of the pawl will in nearing thc end of the returnmovement of the, assembly, gradually force the; spring; .{56 -r1pwa d ylto cau e e p n to r an i l aise. 9 r eas ,the,, push] button 53. for .upward movement to open; .the

. wasa o v eip r e mPQrtan featur Dilhe invention to provide. means for sterilizing: the cutting head. f; t c ipp a d; th s aybe dq pduri theretu n m ve e at he; b as ass mbl is the fo win to swing horizontally on. a post 71 and :a spring {m n nges connter-clockwise movement of this arm until arr-estedtby a projection 73 of the casing 1. On apivotjdoftbe arm is mounted a bracket 75 whichrises therefrom and is alongthe upper ,portionthereof fittediwfith a soft, moisturelabsorbi ng fabric pad 77. A spring=78 rnaintains this bracket yielding'ly in the upright positionindicatedin the drawings. The arm is sw ing onthe post during the return travel of. th'ebrush assembly to move the {fabric pad 5 over the stud 85, in passing to cause the leverto swing on its pivot against the tension of the spring 82 without disturbing the position of the arm 70 andthe bracket thereon. But toward the end of the return movement of the brush assembly it is found that the book will engage the stud"85 to'swingthe arm and bracket to carry the tity of disinfecting fluid for deposit on the fabric pad during the return movement of the brushes over the clipper surface. This mechanism may, as-best shown'in' Figs. '5

and 6,-include a reservoir 90 to which a valve casing 91 is secured and a valve-stem 92 is seated in this casing. -An L-shaped passage 93 is cut through the stem for registration with a passage 94 leading from the reservoir to the" valve. A rod 95 rises from the valve stem to a position between studs 96, 97 of a bracket 98 which, in turn, extends from the frame 15, substantially as shown in Fig. l.

During the advance movement of the brush assembly it is found that the stud 97 will reach and swing the rod 95 forward, thereby to rotate the valve stem to bring the passage 93 thereof into registration with the passage 94 and with a discharge spout 99 to open a passage for the disinfectant from the reservoir to flow through the spout for deposit on the fabric pad 77. This discharge continues until the stud 96, on the return movement of the brush assembly, returns the rod 95 to its initial position to cut oflf the supply of sterilizing fluid.

While the brushes and the fiuid carrying pad 77 may be depended upon thoroughly to cleanse the lower portion of the clipper, it may be found desirable also to cleanse a portion of the clipper above the cutter surface thereof. This may be done by mounting a bracket 100 on the frame 15 and by seating a soft brush 101 in this bracket. This brush will sweep all hair and other foreign matter away from the electric clipper during the movement of the brush assembly and it may be detached from the assembly when not needed by merely loosening the clamping screw 102. For the sake of clearness only one such brush is illustrated in the drawings but I wish to point out that a similar brush maybe placed on the frame at the other side thereof in reverse position to cleanse the opposite side of the clipper.

Once the clipper has been lowered into position in the cradle and the motor started, no further attention is necessary and the clipper may remain in the casing until again needed. During this waiting period, it may be well to provide means for more completely enclosing the clipper partly toprevent dust and other foreign matter from entering the casing and also to retain the full benefit of the sterilizing fumes generated during the cleansing operation. I have for this purpose added a cover 105, which by a hinge 106 is mounted on the top plate of the casing. When this cover is of a size freely to encompass the upper portion of the clipper and fully to enclose the opening 107 through which the clipper is inserted, it is found that the clipper may remain in the casing indefinitely. And when a suitable handle, such as the stud 108 shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, is provided this cover may be conveniently operated. It will, of course, be necessary to provide an outlet for the clipper conduit B, and this may take the shape of a notch 109 cut into the lower edge of the cover. The hinge 106 of the cover is in the drawing for the sake of simplicity and clearness shown placed lengthwise of the casing nearer the rear wall thereof, but it is to be understood that the cover may be turned right or left to position the hinge transversely on the casing if found more convenlent.

While I have herein described a preferred form of the invention, it is to be understood that modification, within the scope of the claims hereto appended, may be embodied to the end that an attractive and conveniently operable device may be produced. It may, for example, be found desirable so to shape and position the brushes and the fabric pad that they will more completely cleanse and sterilize the portion of the clipper within the casing.

Iclaim:

1. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing having an opening in its upper surface, a seat in the casing for the cutter head of a clipper to be cleaned directly below said opening, a frame seated for reciprocation in the casing, a pair of shafts mounted for rotation in the frame and extending therefrom toward said seat, brushes on said shafts, a motor connected to rotate the shafts and brushes, connections from the motor to move the frame forward and backward to cause the rotating brushes to sweep across both faces of the cutter head, a starting switch to close the motor circuit, and means engaging the switch on the return movement of the frame to open the circuit.

2'. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing" device comprising, a casing having an opening in its upper surface, a seat in the casing for the cutter head of a clipper to be cleaned directly below said opening, a hinged lid on the casing for closing the opening entirely to enclose the clipper, a frame seated for reciprocation in the casing, a pair of shafts mounted for rotation in the frame and extending therefrom toward said seat, brushes on said shafts, means for moving said brushes forward and back across the clipper head at both sides thereof, a fabric pad actuated by said, brush moving means to sweep over the clipper head surface following the return movement of the brushes, a motor for actuating said means, a starting switch for the motor, devices actuated by said brush moving means to open said switch at the end of the brush return movement, and means for applying sterilizing fluid to the pad before passing over the blade surface.

3. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing having an opening in its upper surface, a seat in the casing for the cutter head of a clipper to be cleaned directly below said opening, a hinged lid on the casing for closing the opening entirely to enclose the clipper, a frame seated for reciprocationin the casing, a pair of shafts mounted for rotation in the frame and extending therefrom toward said seat, brushes on said shafts, means for reciprocating the frame to move said brushes forward and back across the clipper head at both sides thereof, an element extending from the frame, a fabric pad actuated by said element to sweep over the clipper head surface following the return movement of the brushes, a motor for actuating said means, a starting switch for the motor, devices actuated by said brush moving means to open said switch at the end of the brush return movement, a container for sterilizing fluid, a container discharge valve, and an element on said brush moving means engaging said valve to open and close the valve to deposit sterilizing fluid on the fabric pad before its sweep across. the cutter blade surface.

4. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing having an opening in the upper surface thereof, a seat in the casing directly below said opening for receiving the cutter head of a clipper to be cleaned, a frame movable in the casing toward and away from said seat, a pair of shafts mounted in and extending from said frame, brushes on said shafts, means for moving said frame to carry the brushes across the clipper head at both sides thereof, a fabric pad actuated by said frame moving means to pass over the clipper head surface following the return movement of the brushes, a container for sterilizing fluid, a valve for dispensing fluid from the container for deposit on the fabric pad, a rod extending from said valve, a bracket on the frame, and studs on said bracket contacting said rod during movements of the frame to open and again to close said valve before the return movement of the brushes across the clipper blade surface to discharge fiuidfrom the container for deposit on the pad.

5. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing, a seat in the casing for receiving the cutter head of a clipper to be cleaned, a frame movable in the. casing toward and away from said seat, a pair of shafts mounted in and extending from said frame, brushes on said shafts, an electric motor connected to rotate said shafts and bnishes at convenient speed, connections from one of said shafts for moving said frame at slow speed to carry the brushes across the clipper head at both sides thereof, a fabric pad actuated by said frame moving means subsequently to pass over the clipper blade surface, a container for sterilizing fluid, and means actuated by the brush moving means to direct fluid from said container to the fabric pad for deposit on the cutter blade before the pad passes over the surface thereof.

6. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing having an opening in its upper surface, a seat in the casing for the cutter head of a clipper to be cleaned directly below said opening, a frame seated for reciprocation in the casing, a pair of shafts mounted for rotation in the frame and extending therefrom toward said seat, brushes on said shafts, a motor connected to rotate the shafts and brushes, connections from the motor to move the frame forward and backward to cause the rotating brushes to sweep across both faces of the cutter head, a push button starting switch to close the motor circuit, a plunger projecting from the switch, a fiat spring on the switch below said plunger, and a pawl on the frame for flexing said spring at the 'end of the frame movement to move the plunger thereby to open the switch.

7. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing having an opening in its upper surface, a seat in the casing for the cutter head of a clipper to be cleaned directly below said opening, a frame seated for reciprocation in the casing, a pair of shafts mounted for rotation in the frame and extending therefrom toward said seat, brushes on said shafts, a motor connected to rotate the shafts and brushes, brackets on the frame, a stub shaft supported by said brackets, gear connections from one of the shafts to rotate the stub shaft at slow speed, an arm on the end of the stub shaft, a bar mounted for oscillation in the casing, a pivot interconnecting the free ends of the arm and bar, rotation of the stub shaft and the arm thereon imparting oscillating movement to the frame to cause the rotating brushes to sweep across both faces of the clipper head, a starting switch to close the motor circuit, and means on the frame engaging the switch at the end of the reciprocating frame movement to open the circuit.

8. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing, a seat in the casing for receiving the cutter head of a clipper to be cleaned, a frame movable in the casing toward and away from said seat, a pair of shafts mounted in and extending from said frame, brushes on said shafts, means for moving said frame forward and back to carry the brushes across the clipper head at both sides thereof, a spring-held arm mounted for horizontal swinging movement above the floor of the casing, a stud on said arm, a bracket rising therefrom, a fabric pad on the bracket, a lever hung to swing on the frame, said lever having a hook on the free end thereof engaging the stud on the return stroke of the frame and lever to swing the arm and bracket to cause the fabric pad to sweep across the clipper head surface of the clipper and again to release the arm and bracket for return movement by the spring thereof, and means for depositing sterilizing fluid on the pad before it sweeps across the face of the clipper.

9. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing having an opening in the upper surface thereof, a seat in the casing directly below said opening for receiving the cutter head of the clipper to be cleaned, brushes in the casing, means in the casing for moving said brushes across the head of the clipper at both sides thereof and to return the brushes across the clipper head, a fabric pad actuated by said brush moving means to pass over the clipper head surface following the return movement of the brushes, a container for sterilizing fluid, and means actuated by the brush moving means to direct iiuid from said container to the fabric pad for deposit on the clipper head surface as the pad passes over it.

10. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing having an opening in the upper surface thereof, a seat in the casing directly below said opening for receiving the cutter head of a clipper to be cleaned, a pair of brushes mounted for rotation in the casing, means for rotating and moving said brushes across the clipper head at both sides thereof and to return the brushes across the clipper head, a fabric pad actuated by said brush moving means to pass over the clipper head surface following the return movement of the brushes, a container for sterilizing fluid, and means actuated by the brush moving means to direct fluid from said container to the fabric pad for deposit on the cutter blade surface as the pad passes over the surface.

11. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing having an opening in the upper surface thercof, :a seat in the casing directly below said opening for receiving the cutter head of a clipper to be cleaned, a hinged lid on the casing for closing the opening to enclose the clipper within the casing, a pair of brushes in the casing, means for moving said brushes across the clipper head at both sides thereof and to return the brushes across the clipper head, a fabric pad actuated by said brush moving means to pass over the clipper head surface following the return movement of the brushes, a container for sterilizing fluid, and means actuated by the brush mov' ing means to direct fluid from said container to the fabric pad for deposit on the cutter blade surface as the pad passes over the surface.

12. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing having an opening in its upper surface for passage of a clipper to be cleaned into the casing, a seat in the casing for the cutter head of the clipper directly below the opening, a hinged lid on the casing for closing the opening entirely to enclose the clipper, a frame seated for reciprocation in the casing, a pair of shafts mounted for rotation in the frame and extending therefrom toward the seat, brushes on said shafts, means for moving said brushes across the clipper head at both sides thereof and to return the brushes across the clipper head, a fabric pad actuated by said brush moving means to follow the return movement of the brushes and to sweep over the clipper head surface, and means for applying sterilizing fluid to the pad before passing over the clipper head surface.

13. An electric clipper cleaning and sterilizing device comprising, a casing having an opening in the upper surface thereof, a seat in the casing directly below said opening for receiving a clipper to be cleaned], an inwardly directed bracket in the casing, rods rising from said bracket to form a cradle for receiving the cutter head of the clipper, a platform movable in the casing toward and away from said seat, means for guiding said platform, a frame on the platform, a pair of shafts mounted in and extending from said frame, brushes on said shafts, means for moving said frame to carry the brushes forward and back across the clipper head at both sides thereof, a fabric pad actuated by said frame moving means to pass over the clipper head surface following the return movement of the brushes, a container for sterilizing fluid, and means actuated by the brush moving means to direct fluid from said container to the fabric pad for deposit on the cutter head before the pad passes over the surface thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 590,067 Kirby ..a Sept. 14, 1897 947,933 Peifer Feb. 1, 1910 1,063,416 Cook June 3, 1913 1,535,738 Raysor a- Apr. 28, 1925 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,051,876 France Sept. 23, 1953 

